DEM offering Wildland Firefighter Training Program
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today is announcing it is offering in late spring an intensive, introductory course designed to train new firefighters in the tools, tactics, and strategies used to suppress uncontrolled wildland fires. In 2022, which was marked by a severe drought that the state is only now recovering from, Rhode Island experienced more than 80 wildfires. Parched conditions forced DEM to ban outdoor fires at all state campgrounds, parks, and management areas for a two-week period in August.
DEM will hold the no-cost, four-day, and classroom- and field-based training course – with the curriculum designed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) – at its George Washington Management Area office in Chepachet in June. It will qualify students to a higher skill designation level recognized by the NWCG and expand the state’s capacity to respond to wildfires, which are expected to become more frequent as climate change continues to create warmer, drier conditions, leading to longer and more active fire seasons.
“DEM’s Forest Fire Program works closely with Rhode Island fire departments to suppress wildfires,” said Principal Forest Ranger and Training Officer Ben Arnold of the DEM Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment. “We rely on municipal fire departments to fight wildfires and fire departments rely on us in the same way. This training will allow us to build the capacity needed to address the increasing wildfire activity we’ve seen in recent years. The program offers an opportunity to both DEM employees and Rhode Island firefighters who seek wildfire suppression training at the national standard.”
Earlier this month, DEM announced a policy of increasing the use of prescribed fires in 2023. Arnold noted that training firefighters is one of the major goals of prescribed fires, so the training course aligns with DEM’s forestry management strategy. “We strongly believe that more planned, prescribed fires mean fewer unplanned, extreme wildfires,” Arnold said.
Space will be limited with priority given to local municipal firefighters and DEM employees. Registration is open until Feb. 28. Acceptance letters will be sent notifying applicants of their admission. Questions may be directed to Ben Arnold (Ben.Arnold@dem.ri.gov) or Patrick MacMeekin (Patrick.Macmeekin@dem.ri.gov) of the Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment.
For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates.
Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, a non-profit home health agency with over 70 years serving Aquidneck Island, has placed their 21,858 square foot Portsmouth, RI headquarters on the market with Kirby Properties.
Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, a non-profit home health agency that has been serving Aquidneck Island for over 70 years, has announced that they are selling their Portsmouth, Rhode Island headquarters. The 21,858 square foot building has been placed on the market with Kirby Properties for $3.2 million. According to Jennifer Fairbank, the agency’s Chief…
The fiscal year 2023 budget enacted by the legislature and signed by McKee funded LASA at $700,000 – nearly three times more than the fiscal 2022 level. McKee’s “RI Ready” fiscal 2024 budget submitted to the General Assembly in January proposes another $700,000 for the program.
PROVIDENCE, RI – Governor Dan McKee, Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, and the Rhode Island General Assembly pledged their support to continue funding the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA), an important catalyst in strengthening the local food system, at historically high levels in fiscal year 2024. Authored by Senator V. Susan Sosnowski in 2012 and…
What’sUpNewp, the independent news source launched in 2012, has emerged as the most-read independent news source in Newport, Rhode Island, according to SimilarWeb, a third-party market intelligence firm that provides web analytics services.
What’sUpNewp, the independent news source launched in 2012, has emerged as the most-read independent news source in Newport, Rhode Island, according to SimilarWeb, a third-party market intelligence firm that provides web analytics services. Over the last three months, from November 2022 to January 2023, What’sUpNewp has a country ranking of 73,587 and worldwide with a…
Old words they are, but words to the wise they continue to be.
We’re deep into Black History Month, with culture wars continuing unabated, especially when it comes to what should be taught in the classroom. Arguments over curriculum are nothing new; the classic example played out nearly a century ago amid bombastic arguments by two of the nation’s premier orators and lawyers, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.